As the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Vice –Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar urged the students yesterday to “make a new beginning and put the past behind,” Congress leader P Chidambaram asked him to “take his own advice” and leave the institution as he is “past”.
Chidambaram took to Twitter today and said, “The VC of JNU wants students to “put the past behind”. He should follow his advice. He is the past. He should leave JNU.”
The VC of JNU wants students to “put the past behind”. He should follow his advice. He is the past. He should leave JNU.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 8, 2020
Earlier, Chidambaram on Monday demanded the identification and arrest of perpetrators of violence at JNU within 24 hours and be brought to justice.
Chidambaram, on behalf of the Congress party, also demanded that accountability on officers be fixed and action taken immediately.
Under fire from students and faculty members for not doing enough when they were brutally attacked by a masked mob on the campus on Sunday evening, JNU VC urged the students on Tuesday to put the past behind them and return to the university premises. Speaking for the first time after the incident, VC Kumar termed the January 5 JNU violence as unfortunate.
“Our campus is known for debates and discussions to resolve any issues. Violence is not a solution, and we will find every opportunity to make sure that normalcy returns to the University” he said.
The VC also told that the registration process has been restarted for the winter semesters now. “Let us make a new beginning and put the past behind,” he said.
In a brutal incident of violence in the varsity which broke on January 5 in JNU campus, at least 28 people were injured, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh.
Ghosh got a serious injury on her head after which she was rushed to Delhi’s AIIMS Hospital along with other injured students.
On January 6, she addressed the students in the varsity and alleged ABVP to have orchestrated the attack on the left-wing students in the campus.
She also demanded the resignation of VC for being incapable to tackle the situation and for the security lapses.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said around 100 MPs will write a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the firing of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor (VC). He was addressing a public meeting organised by the teachers’ association and students’ union of the university.
“Many members of Parliament, around 100 of them, have been contacted and they have decided to write a letter to the President, who is the visitor to the university, demanding sacking of the VC,” Yechury said.
Even two days after scores of masked goons armed with rods, sticks, stones and hammers unleashed brutal violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus here with impunity for hours ~ rampaging through the varsity and its hostels, smashing and vandalising things, and attacking students and teachers that left 34 injured ~ the Delhi Police has not been able to arrest a single perpetrator of this mayhem so far.
Meanwhile, a fringe right-wing group, Hindu Raksha Dal, has reportedly taken responsibility for the JNU violence in a video posted on social media.
The video purportedly shows a man identifying himself as Pinki Chaudhary and saying that those who resort to “anti-national activities” will be treated in the same way that the JNU students and faculty were attacked.
He later told news channels that others involved in “anti-national activities” will face similar attacks. There was no reaction from the police on his claims.